The Single Key Attribute to Building an ‘A’ Team

The single key attribute to building an A team is initiative.

Of course, initiative would make the top of any list. This may seem simple, but it’s deceptively so; because there is immature initiative and mature initiative.  Unless we are able to distinguish between the two, we will fall into a trap that completely derails our productivity and the growth of our business.

Early on in entrepreneurship, our key job is to sell the vision to the world and to our team. As an entrepreneur, our vision for the business we’ve created is the heart beat of what we do. It’s what drives us…..to accept risk, to push ourselves to an insane level of commitment, to forego security and comfort. Without our vision, we have nothing. It becomes who we are.

So, when we have a team member who comes to us as says “I see what you are building and I want to build it with you”, we get swept up and mistake this as initiative, because to some extent it is. But we often forget to dig further because finally, we have received external validation that what we are building is legitimate. Our first visionary convert.

I’ve made this mistake more than once. But as time went on, I’ve learned how to differentiate mature initiative from immature initiative and it has changed my entire organization. It is simply the difference between a period and a comma.

Immature Initiative looks like this: “I see what you are building and I want to build it with you.” Period.  Statement over. The next step falls on us.

What tends to happen with these individuals at first is a blessing. They want to help. We naturally give them all the little tasks that eat up our time, but still need to get done. Great. Those are knocked out and off our plate.

But with immature initiative, the team member will come back and ask “what else can I do?”. You give them a list. Then they come back. “what else can I do?” You give them a list. Then the come back…..

I found myself at a point where I was spending so much of my time making a list for them to do, that I couldn’t even do my own job. It became a black hole and is completely unsustainable.

Then I discovered mature initiative.

Mature Initiative looks like this: “I see what you are building and I want to build it with you, here are a list of ideas and plans I have that will increase customer acquisition, retention, loyalty….”

At last, once I discovered mature initiative and what it looked like in my organization, productivity soured. Things are getting done at a rate I only dreamed of. Morale is through the roof. Customer retention is a strength, rather than a weakness. I’m actually getting my work done. And the best part of all, it’s contagious. When the rest of the team sees it, and sees it rewarded, it grows.

If you can give yourself and your business 1 thing as an entrepreneur, develop your ability to distinguish between the two and build a leadership team of people who have mature initiative.

An Open Letter to Parents, From Your Child's Future Boss

An Open Letter to Parents, from Your Child’s Future Boss

 
Dear Parents,

I am an owner of a pizza restaurant. I am currently 32 and technically a millennial myself. I have approximately 35 employees, most of whom are younger than I am. My establishment is what most consider an entry level job. For the vast majority of my team, I am their first employer. As a first time employer to many teenagers, I need to explain why, as parents, you are setting your kids up for failure; and why, when I fire your child, I am really blaming you.  

Pick your battles, but when you pick them—win them. 

Parenting is full of battles, battle grounds and battle fields. Who are we kidding?  Sometimes, it’s all out war. It’s not always easy, or wise, to fight all of the battles that parenting brings. It is important, however, that when you do pick a battle, no matter how large or small, that you win it.

I get it, you have long days. You are exhausted. When you come home from work, you don’t have the energy to battle your children who don’t want to: practice piano/read for 20 minutes/eat their dinner/go to sports practice. You don’t always have the energy to say no to your child who really, really wants that toy at Target and who starts to cry and kick and scream because they aren’t getting their way.

It’s definitely easier (and much less embarrassing) to give into your child, but when you do, you are setting them up for failure in the work place. When your child doesn’t know how to not get their way; or worse, throws a fit when they don’t get their way, they will be unemployable. They may get the job, but they won’t keep the job.

As your child’s future boss, I don’t care if your child doesn’t want to mop the floor at the end of the shift. They have to do it or I will find someone else who does. As your child’s future boss, if your child throws a fit because they have to keep their iPhone in their locker and not in their pocket, they will not be employed here long.

Please do not give into your child, because I won’t. Trust me, it’s better for them, if they learn it from you rather than me.  

Privileges are earned.

Privileges are privileges. Rights are rights. Do not confuse the two. We have a generation of children who have no idea how to earn a privilege. How could they when they aren’t being taught? How many kids are playing games on smart phones, video games or watching TV, without first doing chores and fulfilling responsibilities?

There is a simple test to see if your child understands that privileges are privileges. Does your child say “mom/dad, I want play on your phone” or does your child ask “mom/dad, what can I do to earn phone time?”? You may think I am playing with semantics, but I assure you that as your child’s future boss, I am not.

When I have Team Members who come to me and say “I want a raise.” we have a very different conversation than when they come to me and say “What can I do to grow into management?” Yes, they are essentially asking the same thing, but the questions tell me very different things about who they are as individuals. One is asking, “How can I get more out of the company?”. The other is asking, “How can I be more valuable to the company?”.

In the first scenario, I will list the requirements to be a manager. In the second scenario, I will map out their steps, get behind them; invest time and energy into their success.  Their success, is my success.

More importantly, if the first scenario happens regularly with an employee, I will start to look for a replacement. As a business owner, I don’t have time to build a team filled with takers.  

Consequences are real.

Teach your child that actions have real consequences – whether positive or negative. Do NOT make idle threats. If you tell your children, “if you continue to fight, we will turn this car around and go home”; then go home if they continue. If you fail to follow through on the consequences, you are teaching your child that consequences are not real.

 If you fail to follow through on consequences, your child will believe that nothing they do is ever wrong. They will believe that they are a victim when I fire them for not coming into work, lying to me about being sick, or manipulating the time clock. Trust me, I will find out and the consequences are very real. 

Just because we are often an entry level job, doesn’t mean that we aren’t a real job. If we weren’t a real job, I wouldn’t pay them real money.  

Teach them to be Productive Adults.

There is a huge misconception that you are a good parent, when you have a “good kid”. Please don’t raise your children to be good kids, raise them to be productive adults. If you look at what characteristics define a good kid, they are very different from the characteristics that define being a productive adult.

For the most part, a good kid can be summed up as a kid who listens to their parents and does what they are told. Congratulations, you are teaching your child to be a good drone; to follow directions and to execute on instructions.

I have employed a few teenagers who are “good kids”. They do their work – when they are told. They are also the kids who are completely confused when I fire them.

I do not want to employ drones. I will not have employees who constantly need to be told what to do. We have checklists. Lots of checklists. When I come into the restaurant and I see someone standing around while there are dishes that need to be done, do you really think that I should have to tell them to “do the dishes”? No, I shouldn’t and I won’t. So why is this acceptable at home? Teach your child to do their chores because they need to be done, not simply because you told them to do it.

If your child doesn’t have chores, I won’t even hire your child.

I want the best for my team and everyone who comes through my door. However the more our business grows and the more people we hire, the more I am realizing that I am not only having to be their boss, but also their parent. Collectively, as parents, we can do better than this. Our kids deserve better than this. After all, they are the one who will be suffering the consequences.

Sincerely,

Your Child’s Future Boss